In the U.S. last year, surgeons at the University of Pennsylvania attempted that sort of “bridge” support by externally attaching a pig liver to a brain-dead human body to filter blood, much like dialysis for failing kidneys. U.S. pig developer eGenesis is studying that approach.

Doctors in China have become the first to report details about a transplant of a genetically modified pig liver into a human.

In a study published in Nature, the group describes transplanting a gene-edited pig liver into a brain-dead patient. At the request of the patient’s family, the study was termin